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  • The Gringo: A Memoir by J. Grigsby Crawford book cover
  • The Gringo: A Memoir by J. Grigsby Crawford book cover
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The Gringo: A Memoir

by J. Grigsby Crawford

A Peace Corps memoir in the Amazon

$13.01 USD
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AlbakiReads Editorial

A Peace Corps memoir in the Amazon

J. Grigsby Crawford’s memoir draws on two years in the Amazon jungle, beginning with his work as a volunteer in a remote part of South America. The publisher’s description highlights a kidnapping plot, illness, and encounters with drugs and sex, alongside observations about life in the Peace Corps. It also frames the book as a mix of personal travel narrative and commentary on the agency’s role in the twenty-first century, with humor among its stated features. The account brings together the risks of volunteering far from home and a broader look at the institution Crawford encountered.

Good fit for readers who enjoy

  • Readers interested in memoirs about volunteering abroad and Peace Corps life.
  • Readers seeking travel narratives set in the Amazon and South America.
  • Readers interested in accounts that combine personal experience with institutional commentary.

Themes

Volunteering abroadLife in the AmazonRisk and illnessPeace CorpsTravel and institutional critique

Based on publisher information and book metadata.

Book overview

Within weeks of arriving as a volunteer in a remote corner of South America, Crawford got a lot more than he bargained for: a narrow escape from a kidnapping plot hatched by the people he was sent there to help. Then things only got stranger.

In his quest to find adventure, Crawford undertook a savage journey of danger, drugs, sex, and alarming illness. What resulted is The Gringo: one part literary tale of two lonely years in the Amazon jungle and one part gonzo-journalism account of life in the Peace Corps, an agency wandering aimlessly through the twenty-first century. Filled with sharp humor and eye-opening observations about the human condition, this is an unforgettable story that grabs the reader and doesn't let go.
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